good morning.

i'm dr. sanjay gupta. coming to you today from new orleans where we are focusing on the health impact of the oil disaster. as you know, for more than 80 days now oil has been gushing into the gulf. one of the big questions we want to answer today, how is seafood itted? we had exclusive access to the lab where seafood is tested. we'll get you answers. also, how many clean-up workers are getting sick? the answer, more than 1500. at least to according to bp's physician in charge of the company's medical response. we'll have that conversation ooze well. i met with a mother who nearly died after giving birth to triplets. her children haven't seen her since they were a year old. cnn exclusive. stay tuned for abbey's story. let's get started. here in new orleans, the restaurants are open, the food is great. especially the seafood. and as we've been say for weeks

now, it's also safe to eat. a lot of people still asking, how can you be sure? well, today i'm going to show you with an exclusive look at the government's lab that tests seafood coming out of the gulf. behind these doors, huge decisions are being made. tests determining whether or not the seafood in the gulf is safe for us to eat. it looks like a scene straight out of a crime scene show. what you're looking at is a chain of custody record. that's because the fish that are being tested are literally treated like evidence. you've got to keep track of where it's been and who has handled it. this is the test fag sillity. these are fish over here that are being tested, trying to figure out if, indeed, they are safe, aluminum foil, special instruments, workers wearing gloves. they want to be very careful not to contaminate any of this fish to make sure their records and testing are possible. thousand of fish have been tested. they are being brought here in these huge ice units.

we're here in mississippi. got a lot of fish behind us here. >> yes. >> bagged and tagged. >> yes, they are. know where they come from. >> this is part of the process. dr. john stein is head of noah's seafood safety testing program. you go around the country, john, and talk to people about what's happened here in the gulf. the question always comes up, is the seafood safe. >> yes. >> and you say? >> yes. we have an extensive program in place between noaa, fda, epa, the gulf states and we're all working together to ensure that the seafood is safe. >> reporter: but no one can be sure. that's because we don't know exactly how much oil is leaking. more importantly, exactly where it is going. you've been talking with a lot of scientists and they say the oil as it starts to break up, you get all of these various compounds that are not oil, so to speak, anymore. and they're just -- aromatic hydro carbons. >> yes. >> they can go overall over the place. that's what i think makes it so

difficult. how do you know if it's not oil per se but still some of the toxic elements and end up further away in an area that doesn't a oil. >> that's why this testing program deals both with the sensory to detect oil and the analytical chemistry to also detect the aromatic car who high drens. >> reporter: this room is where sensory testing takes place. they have typically testers all up and down here. the first thing you do this, is uncooked fish, get a little smell of this. and then determine what you think the score is, what the likelihood that this is contaminated. the next step, the taste test. so you've got your nose, you've got your sense of smell working. and now is the sense of taste. they pointed out to me that even if this was contaminated, even a small apartment like thmount lit be problematic. you eat this but you don't swallow it, they say, because your don't want to ruin the rest

of your testing, so here it is. tastes pretty good as well. i'm not an expert. that seems pretty good to me. the researchers say a contaminated fish has a distinct taste. it's unmistakablunmistakable. if all of this sounds subjective to you, you're right. that's why there are ten different testers, all of them hidden from each other. they can't even see each other's reaction while they're testing. but all of these tests are only for oil compounds. turns out, no one is testing these fish for possible contamination by that controversial dispersant corrects it. one of the particularly toxic chemicals, you can't -- there's no chemical test that's being done right now. >> there's not a chemical test for that right now. >> reporter: what? no test. so how can the guarantee of safety be complete? they dig deeper to clarify. noaa says out of an abundance of caution they are currently

developing a chemical test for dispersants. it just isn't ready yet. and it can't come soon enough for the millions of people who want to eat this fish and those who make a living catching them. based on everything you know now, how long is it going to stay closes? >> it's going to stay closed until the well -- the oil leak is stopped. once the oil leak is stopped, then we'll have a very aggressive and very comprehensive survey of that area for reopening. >> now, the seafood might be safe, but how much of it is still available here in the gulf? we get a reality check from one oyster fisherman. take a look. >> a lot of dead oysters right here, in this spot. everything is dying. little ones, everything. that's dead. that's dead. that's dead. it's all within two weeks. dead. after so many days, this is a fresh kill, all dead.

it's disgusting. this is -- i mean, it takes an oyster from -- this oyster is about 3 months old. for it to get from this size to this size, this is about a 3-year-old oyster. three years of damage you're looking at there, take the growth from that to that. i've seen areas ten years oysters coming back. this is not something that's going to be done and fixed overnight. >> now, up next, as the clean-up continues, how many workers are getting sick? and what exactly are they experiencing? i spoke excleeusively with the doctor in charge of bp's medical response from the gulf. you'll want to hear what he has to say. to say. stay with us. a non-challenge.esterol

we are back with sgmd. the workers go out there and try and clean up the oil the water. the question is, what is the health impact on them?

dr. kevin oh shea is the head of bp's medical response. we went to him straight to get some real answers. take a look. for someone that's been out there and you've heard these complaints i'm sure like i have, complain of burning in their sinuses and throat, lightheadedness, nausea, headaches. what is that? is that exposure to the toxic elements? >> regarding the emp symptoms t we're seeing, we don't have a good explanation. >> what a lot of people are saying, look, we're smelling this stuff, we don't feel well afterwards. we are exposed to this stuff. >> they do come in and we do evaluate them. and we do treat them. and assure that there hasn't been any ill effect from a dhem ca chem cat out there. sometimes we can't explain why. >> there are gray areas of medicine. >> absolutely. >> you know that probably better than anybody. with regard to testing. if someone comes in with any kind of complaint, are you just

getting baseline blood testing or are you only doing it in cases where you're strongly suspicious? >> we do in the have any subprotocol out there so we rely on the occupational physicians and emergency room physicians. i would know in some cases, yes, there's blood work being done. in all cases, i can't tell you that. >> patients are coming in having -- they is cold like symptoms, these rashes and other things. they're just told this is all due to a virus. i mean, that doesn't sound right to me. does that sound right to you? >> not being able to evaluate any specific examples. but we have 40 through responders out there. people will get sick, as well. so i -- we are not influencing the praksticictitioners out the any way. we are relying on them to use their clinical judgment, understanding what the exposures are and what the symptoms are

and give their best diagnosis for the situation. >> because of this, this concern that, you know, you're with bp. >> right. >> they say, look, you've got a dog in that race. if they come to you, a worker, and they're not happy with what you or your doctors are v. told them, can they go somewhere. >> absolutely. >> and will it be covered by bp? >> as far as going somewhere else. we know that people have bypassed the ems personnel that we have and have gone into their -- to see their personal doctors. and we are -- we don't have a problem with that. they just need to go through the claims process and workers compensation process, and that would be handled that way. we know that it's happened. we're not forcing people to see any of the health facilities that we have out in the field. >> after valdez, they said that the 11,000 workers, some reports say 6,000 of them everyone ch--

eventually got ill. some shorter term, some very long term, developed significant problems. is that something you've worried about? >> it is. that's why we engaged the institute of medicine and other government agencies, health and human services, nih, to look at long-term health. >> but there aren't any right now to look at, right? >> the long-term health studies, no, i don't believe from any of the i'll spills p the institute of medicine had a seminar here and there were not any long-term health studies that were out there. >> so you're working in a little bit of a black hole. you just don't have the precedent to base this on. >> for long-term health studies? no, we do not. we will, of course, continue to follow this story right here on "sgmd." when we come back, why can't this woman see her shoulder? i was given access to abbey dorn. her story is coming up with us next, that's going to make you think. think. i promise.

does a severely disabled woman have a right to see her children? or should children be shielded in some way from seeing her mom when she's unable to move or clearly communicate with them? these are questions that are tearing one family apart. i was given exclusive opportunity to meet that mom. her name is abbey dorn, and this is her story. abbey -- this is abbey dorn. she's been like this for four years. watch her eyes. can you look at me? look over here, abbey. can you blink yes for me? blink yes. abbey's parents, here with me,

say she can communicate, yes and no, by blinking. her ex-husband disagrees and says her blinking is simply spontaneous. it is not communicating. does this hurt at all, abbey? >> yes. >> that was a yes. >> you think she's communicating right now? >> oh, yeah. that was a yes. >> abbey's parents and her ex-husband says it matters whether her blinking is really communication. but you know the story you're about to hear is really more about three children and their mother and whether they'll ever see each other again. this is how it began. eight years ago abbey was 26, vibrant, happy. she was marrying daniel. their lives filled with nothing but joy and big dreams. they wanted to start a family. the children didn't come easily. it would take months of fertility treatments for abbey to get pregnant.

abbey and daniel got the news. they were having triplets. abbey's mom, susan. >> really felt that it was the beginning of a very good stable, happy life. >> reporter: there were no signs during her pregnancy that things would go terribly wrong. abbie's father. >> we didn't know anything about this until three hours after it happened. >> reporter: during delivery, abbie lost nearly two liters of blood, underwent a emergency hysterectomy. abbie survived, of course, though her brain was severely damaged. the triplets, they were fine. today they're 4 years old. we're not showing you their faces because they are minors. abbie has not seen them since they were 1. her parents say she wants to, that she tells them that with her blinking. robe mccarthy is a therapist

working with abbie. there had been some articles in some papers from her former husband's attorneys, that have said that she was in a persistent vegetative state. do you agree with that? >> no. >> absolutely not? >> no. i think that abbie's clinical condition is more indicative of a brain-injured individual. >> reporter: but her ex-husband would not talk to us, disagrees. he says abbie could not possibly be communicating and is preventing their three children from visiting her. vicki bregreen is his attorney. >> as far as we know, medically speaking, she is in a vegetative state. and to have her children see her at such a young age when they can't fully understand the tragedy and what happened to their mother. he's concerned with how they will react. >> reporter: abbie's parents and their attorney lisa meyer insists she can interact with them. >> she has consistently stated

that she wants visitation with her children. she does have cognitive functioning as evidenced by the tests that she took that she passed with 80% accuracy. >> reporter: mccarthy showed me. >> one would expect that abbie's responses to a series of statements would be 50% accurate and 50% inaccurate, merely based on chance. she was able to demonstrate an 88% level of accuracy. ♪ >> reporter: it's friday afternoon. a music therapist is working with abbie. later, it's acupuncture. her parents are providing abbie every available therapy. but is it working? to be fair, i'm a neurosurgeon, even i'm not sure. i'll ask her about one of her triplets. abbie, is this ruby?

that looked like a yes. but as i spent time examining abbie, i wondered if debating whether she can express what she wants is even the right question to ask. her parents' attorney. >> i think that abbie's medical condition is the red herring in this case. children have a right to know their parents. it doesn't matter what their medical condition is. >> reporter: vicki green who represents the father says he doesn't want to prevent the kids from seeing their mother, but it's about timing. >> he's concerned about how they're going to react and how it's going to effect their development. dan believes the children will know about their mother when it's age appropriate. >> i can tell you the court has appointed a child development expert to work with abbie and dan's kids. they have appointed a neurologist to get an updated official medical evaluation of abbie's condition. coming up, with the oil

spill gushing in the gulf, many are feeling despair, frustration. many are stressed out. how to cope with the stress is the topic of "ask the doctor." stay with us. is that different from health insurance? well yeah... ...aflac pays you cash to help with the bills that health insurance doesn't cover. really? well, if you're hurt and can't work, who's going to help pay for gas? ..the mortgage, all kinds of expenses? aflacccccccccc! it's the protection you need to stay ahead of the game... exactly! aflac. we've got you under our wing. aflac, aflac, aflac... aflac, aflac, aflac

we are back with "sgmd." every week at this time i'm going to answer your questions. this is your appointment. no waiting. no insurance necessary. get to an e-mail question from tinley park, illinois. can you address problems of depress shun and hopelessness from many workers in the gulf? what is going done to help these people cope? as you walk around here, you know exactly what you're describing. we know the economy, jobs, relationships, all of that can

cause a lot of stress. where i am today, jobs really high on that list of worries. mental stress is taking a toll on many people living in this particular region of the country. about a month ago i was here interviewing some of the fishermen's wives. they talked to me specifically about their types of feeling of stressed. at the st. bernard's project just outside new orleans the wait for people who are seeking mental health services is just getting longer and longer. it stretched from three to four weeks to more than seven weeks since this oil disaster began. some clinicians are very concerned about the future here. the water, the culture, aren't just a way to earn a living. they're a way of life. the way families have lived and have done things for generations. one louisiana lawmaker wants bp's $20 billion liability to also pay for mental health claims. he says that bp claims process does not cover mental health services as things stand now. louisiana's health secretary has also asking bp for $10 million to pay for mental health fund.

for now i can tell you, from what we've seen the focus is on the basis, make sure food vouchers are able available, help people pay their bills. they are also teaching other things like wellness classes, trying to relieve stress. suffering from stress due to the current situation they teach sometimes some basic techniques that seem to help. deep breathing techniques, for example. mindfulness meditation techniques. also mindful eating, knowing how to control yourself when you're anxious and sitting down at the table. here in the gulf there's also a lot of attention being paid to maintaining relationships within families and communities. something that we can all benefit from, i think. hope that helps. all right. let's shift topics now. we're just one week away from the new york city triathlon. you see that i'm training really hard in the gulf. six cnn viewers from coast to coast are racing with me who have been sharing their stories with you from the past six

months now. one of them is meredith clark, training in tallahassee, florida. we're checking in with her today. when meredith signed up for the fitness challenge she had just turned 30 and decided it was time to fulfill her lifetime goal of competing in a telethon. she wanted to to show the african-american community they could get fit as well. take a look at how she's doing now. >> hello there, good morning. it's meredith clark here with cnn's fit nation try@on this challenge. i'm fresh back from a morning's swim of 1,000 yards in preparation for the triathlon. i'm very excited about the new york city triathlon. i'm looking forward now to jumping in the hudson, which is a big fear of mine up until i guess a little over a week ago. but i'm look fogger waing forwa hearing the crowds and seeing the people and feeling the adrenaline pump as we achieve this race. this process has been lifestyle change and a transition for me.

i am really looking forward toing being a try athlete to incorporating the workouts into my daily schedule, not just for the purpose of racing but just for the fun, the exercise that i get from doing it. it's been a lot of fun having you guys along for the journey. i hope to see you there at the finish line on july 18th in the nautica new york city triathlon. this is meredith clark, signing off. >> meredith, i think you would agree it's been a tough but rewarding journey for all of us. i look forward to seeing you at the finish line next week. seeing you in the hudson river as well. "sgmd" continues right after the break.